Secrecy — utmost secrecy — is a feature of the way in which the Catholic Church is administered. A natural consequence of secrecy is lack of accountability by Church officials, and, inevitably, the covering up of such evils as sexual abuse, writes Fr. Brian O’Connell.
When such evils are uncovered the damage to the Church’s reputation is even greater than it would have been had such offences been admitted and dealt with in a timely and appropriate way.
In his focus article in the June Marist Messenger, O’Connell writes that “Honesty, transparency, and accountability are the hallmarks of a healthy organization. They are based on gospel values. Would anyone dare to argue that they do not apply to the Church of Jesus Christ? Pre-eminently in fact?”
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